A rare cypress-wood okimono of a hawk


By Tsuramitsu, Iwami Province, Edo period (1615-1868), dated 1823Perched on an integral tree trunk, its head turned back and its eyes inlaid, the ancient tree trunk naturalistically rendered and carved in low relief with trailing foliage; signed and dated Sekiyo no junin Tsuramitsu saku toki ni Bunsei roku mizunoto-hitsuji toshi kugatsu-bi (carved in the ninth month of 1823 by Tsuramitsu, living in Iwami Province) with a kao. 28.5cm (11¼in) high.
|Often referred to by his probable nickname Kanman, Tsuramitsu (1793-1859) was born in the town of Ota, to the north-east of the Enokawa River. He produced many netsuke in Iwami style, as well as a number of okimono, tonkotsu and inro.For a fine selection of netsuke by Tsuramitsu (catalogued as by Kanman), see our accompanying sale of Iwami nestuke from the Robert S. Huthart Collection, 15 May 2019.